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Saturday, May 3, 2014

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2*Mild Spoilers Alert Do NOT forget to rate this post when you finish.

Official 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' Poster.

Better in many aspects than the first
installment of this rebooted franchise, 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' is a
satisfying comic book movie that will entertain all lovers of the character and
general audience.

"Emma Stone" and
"Andrew Garfield".

"Andrew Garfield".

'Peter Parker'(Andrew Garfield) is getting
himself used to his overly-stuffed double life; battling criminals and stopping
them as 'Spider-Man' and keeping up with his teenage responsibilities and life as
'Peter'. Graduating from school, he finds it really hard to balance those
responsibilities and keeping the love of his life 'Gwen Stacy'(Emma Stone)
safe, knowing the promise he gave to her father ‘George Stacy'(Denis Leary) to
keep her away from his dangerous life-style(in 'The
Amazing Spider-Man'). Also hiding his secret identity from his loving
and caring 'Aunt May'(Sally Field) is harder than it actually seems. But things
get worse when 'Spider-Man' number one fan electrical engineering 'Max
Dillon'(Jaime Foxx) accidentally turns into the dangerous 'Electro' and 'Peter'
old friend 'Harry Osborn'(Dane DeHaan), son of Oscorp founder 'Norman
Osborn'(Chris Cooper) returns to New York carrying potentially extremely
dangerous secrets. With their showing, 'Peter' will discover what is happening
behind closed doors in Oscorp and its relation with his parent’s death. Will he
be able to stop these villains, while maintaining his life and keeping 'Gwen'
and his aunt alive? Other major characters include Russian mobster 'Aleksei
Sytsevich/Rhino'(Paul Giamatti), 'Peter''s parents 'Richard Parker'(Campbell
Scott) and 'Mary Parker'(Embeth Davidtz), 'Harry''s assistant 'Felicia'(Felicity
Jones), head of Ravencroft Institute 'Dr. Ashley Kafka'(Martin Csokas), 'Donald
Menken'(Colm Feore), 'Alistair Smythe'(B.J. Novak) and "Michael
Massee" as the man in the shadows from the first movie.

"Andrew Garfield" and
"Dane DeHaan".

"Jaimee Foxx".

Ever since 'The
Amazing Spider-Man' hit theaters, critics and people were criticizing
the early reincarnation and reboot of 'Spider-Man'. Especially since at the
time it has been only 5 years since 'Spider-Man 3' hit theaters, with
awful response (which was totally justifiable). But the first movie really had
potential and many positive aspects that gave people hope that this new
rebooted franchise could move on and become better. And for the most part, 'The
Amazing Spider-Man 2' improves on the criticism that the first movie picked
up and further improve and take advantage on the many positives that it had.
Furthermore, it gave the fans clarification on why subplots were undercooked.
When it was announced that there would be three villains, many were afraid
about a 'Spider-Man 3' repeat. However, the director and writers did a
very good job balancing these three villains and incorporating them into the
movie. Everything in the movie, from the stunts to the music is much bigger and
better. Still with this movie, many few clues and elements were added in favor
in creating a larger cinematic 'Spider-Man' universe a la Marvel and 'The
Avengers' style. And with the announcement of 'The Amazing
Spider-Man' 3 and 4, as well as a 'Venom' and 'Sinister Six' movie, which
in the future will allow the movie to gain even more importance.

"Sally Fields".

"Paul Giamatti".

Director "Marc Webb" improves so
much from the first movie, where he was basically a newcomer to the
action/comic book blockbuster movies. With the experience he gained from the
first installment, "Marc" basically improved and created a more
crafted and well organized world, where everything felt in place within this
universe. The balance between the drama/emotional scenes (which is his forte)
and the action sequences felt more organic and cohesive than the first movie,
but still at certain times you can feel 3 different movies being joined into
one. Hopefully in the third installment will further improve on this aspect.
"Alex Kutzman"('Star
Trek Into Darkness'), "Roberto Orci"('Now
You See Me') and "Jeff Pinkner"('Fringe' TV series)
overall gave us a well crafted story, which had good subplots. Still many of
these subplots could have had more breathing space, which was put down in favor
of setting up for future sequels and spin-off movies. The movie was basically
made for the 3D viewing. The visual effects were made without restraints and
improved so much the visual aesthetics of the movie. "Hans Zimmer"('Man of
Steel') co-scored the interesting yet enjoyable score with 'The
Magnificent Six'(which includes "Pharell Williams"). The score was
tilting toward the musical-action score, which totally help elevate the quality
of the experience especially in the scenes that included 'Electro'.

"Jaime Foxx".

"Andrew Garfield".

The beginning of the movie, which was a very
unusual energetic looking back scene on what really happened to 'Peter
Parker''s parents. Though many questions that in the first movie were left in
the first movie unanswered were answered, still mystery could still be felt and
hopefully it will be explored in the third one. From then onward, the movie
starts with what is happening with 'Peter Parker'. The action scenes and the
drama scenes were both on par since they felt interdependent and important for
both to exist. The actions sequences were over-the-top, thrilling and exciting
to watch. From the beginning chase sequence, to 'Electro' and 'Spider-Man'
facing off in Times Square, "Marc Webb" and his visual effects teams
left nothing to the imagination. And these sequences justified the 3D
inclusion, which is absent many times in movies nowadays. The scenes that made
the movie more of a success are "Andrew" and "Emma"'s
character interactions, which will be discussed shortly. The climax battle was
truly worthy of a climax battle, even though at first one may be fearful of its
length. In the end of this battle, comes the incarnation of one of the most
iconic and tragic comic book scenes ever made in my opinion. The style and
shooting angle that "Webb" took further more highlighted its
importance and its emotional importance (which could be felt when silence
suddenly was felt once it was shown). The ending was unconventional yet
exciting and important both from a narrative and action point of view.

"Emma Stone".

"Dane DeHaan", "Andrew Garfield"
and "Emma Stone".

In general, the cast of this movie mash-up
smoothly together and lift the movie, where the subplots may be under-written.
"Andrew Garfield" once again proved why many, including me, loved his
version of 'Peter Parker/Spider-Man'. One can feel how effortlessly he can give
us such a goofy, young and funny teenager, who is struggling with the right
thing to do and what he is actually feeling. This makes us enjoy what he is
doing and bringing up to the table. "Emma Stone" further proves her skillfulness,
also effortlessly bringing charm, charisma and strength to her performance.
Including her more in the sequences and giving her more importance rather than
relegating her to a damsel in distress was a right call from the part of the
writers. Just like in the first installment, the genuine and real chemistry
that this on-screen/off-screen couple gives us is what surely seals the deal,
making all of their scenes a pleasure to watch. The on-top of the bridge scenes
is truly one of the highlight scenes of this entire movie. "Jaime
Foxx"'s performance was a commendable one, especially seeing that the
motive to his demise was bit of a downer. Nevertheless, he is able to lift us
the character and give his motive more importance than it might technically
have. Still his inclusion allows us to see the great visual effects within the
battle scenes between his character and 'Spider-Man'.

"Andrew Garfield" and "Jaime Foxx".

"Andrew Garfield".

Casting "Dane DeHaan" as the
elusive 'Harry Osborn' was a very clever choice, from an artistic point of
view. The difference from the popular "James Franco" incarnation was necessary
for this series tone and narrative direction. His subplot was not the strongest
one, but with his skill and great chemistry with "Andrew Garfield",
he is able to brilliantly pull it off. Hopefully more development will be
brought on in future movies. "Paul Giamatti" as 'Rhino' was fun to
watch, since his sequences were entertaining. And his short inclusion was the
right idea in order not to over-stuff the movie. "Sally Field"
performance as always is emotionally and narrative important, and truly she is
the unsung hero of this franchise, where her strategic inclusion in the movie
was very much appreciated. Many would not recognize the 'comic-book' importance
of the characters of "Felicity Jones", "Martin Csokas",
"Colme Feore" and "B.J. Novak"; still their inclusion was
appreciated from that perspective and in favor of the universe being built. And
their performance was suitable to support the continuation of the narration and
unfolding of the story. "Chris Cooper" successfully shows us a small
insight on who is "Norman Osborn", while "Campbell Scott"
and "Embeth Davidtz" portrayal of 'Peter''s father and mother was
exciting. "Denis Leary"'s cameo appearance as 'Gwen Stacy''s father
was appreciated.

Overall, 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' is an
improvement from its predecessor. It is also a satisfying superhero movie,
which many will hope it will lead to an even better third movie and build a
solid cinematic universe.

2 comments:

This movie is amazing and so is your review! For me, Peter and Gwen's chemistry is the best of the best when it comes to love angles in Superhero movies. Overall, the movie is immense definitely much better than the first one but the reviews I have been reading on do not align with my experience watching the film. I must say that Marc Webb is an incredible director!!! A+